UPDATE: Venice doctor not guilty of DUI in stop by deputy

Published: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 11:11 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 3:36 p.m.

VENICE - The Venice physician accused of DUI by ex-deputy Dominic Fornal was found not guilty by a six-person jury this afternoon.

“My client was vindicated today. We couldn’t be happier, especially since there are about 100 cases or so left in the county from Mr. Fornal,” said defense attorney Brandon Daniels, after the three day trial.

The jury did not find the former deputy credible, Daniels said. He believes the acquittal sends a message.

“I hope the State Attorney’s Office sees this as how he will be perceived as a witness. Credibility was the issue,” he said. “The jury saw through his inflammatory allegations.”

Tuesday's trial stemmed from a DUI arrest the former Sarasota County sheriff's deputy made in July, when he stopped Dr. Lew Little, a Venice physician, for speeding on State Road 776 south of Jacaranda Boulevard. Little, who claimed during the stop he had nothing to drink, refused to take a breath test.

EARLIER: Ex-deputy Dominic Fornal took the stand Tuesday as the state's main witness in one of the dozens of DUI cases left in limbo by his abrupt resignation last week amid an internal affairs probe into his behavior.

Fornal had been under investigation for an expletive-laden tirade that was captured on a state trooper's video recorder at an accident scene. Fornal referred to a man with post-traumatic stress disorder and attention deficit disorder who was a passenger in an accident as a “dumb f---ing retard,” adding, “I wish he would have got hit by a f---ing car on University. That would have been kinda funny.”

Tuesday's trial stemmed from a DUI arrest the former Sarasota County sheriff's deputy made in July, when he stopped Dr. Lew Little, a Venice physician, for speeding on State Road 776 south of Jacaranda Boulevard. Little, who claimed during the stop he had nothing to drink, refused to take a breath test.

County Judge Maryann Boehm set strict limits to the questions defense attorney Brandon Daniels could ask about Fornal's background. Her ruling came in response to a prosecutor's request to bar Daniels from raising Fornal's past stops or from introducing newspaper accounts of his activities.

The jury, comprising three men and four women, never learned that at the accident scene last November which ultimately cost him his job, Fornal allegedly poured a bottle of liquor into a woman's purse and then dumped the remainder of the bottle onto the floorboards of her van, and described another deputy as a “dumbass” to a state trooper. Fornal chose to resign rather than answer the allegations.

Fornal had been previously scrutinized for stopping a car in May after saying he could smell raw marijuana coming from the vehicle while following it at 35 mph with his windows rolled up. No raw marijuana was ever found.

Fornal told the jury he resigned from the sheriff's office for “personal reasons.”

Under cross examination, Daniels asked the former deputy to expand a bit on his answer.

“What were those personal reasons?” Daniels asked.

“Reasons that were personal,” Fornal said.

“Please elaborate,” Daniels said.

“Plenty of personal reasons,” Fornal replies. “I'm in school full time.”

“Any other personal reasons?” Daniels asked, which prompted an objection by Assistant State Attorney Melissa Gould, a sidebar with Judge Boehm, and the line of questioning stopped.

Fornal was with his union representative when he tendered his resignation last week.

In court Tuesday, Daniels tried to ask the former deputy to elaborate on that scene. This too was not allowed.

Daniels tried asking Fornal who had received his resignation letter.

“Through the chain of command, to Sheriff Knight,” Fornal said.

“No. Who did you hand it to?” Daniels asked.

“To Lt. Mercurio,” Fornal said.

“What department is he in?” Daniels asked.

“Internal Affairs,” Fornal said.

Fornal, who was wearing a white shirt, green tie and black pants, was somewhat argumentative with the defense attorney while on the stand. He blinked and cleared his throat frequently when under cross examination, and grinned widely at the jurors.

“I have an extensive amount of training in DUI enforcement,” Fornal told the jurors. “I would not have arrested him if he had not been impaired.”

Fornal said Little had “bloodshot watery eyes,” and that his speech was “slurred and thick-tongued.”

“I did notice an odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath,” Fornal said. “His fly was open. He had difficulty following instructions. He didn't appear to be sober.”

Later, when unable to recall a specific detail of the arrest, Fornal said, “I have arrested over 400 impaired drivers to date. I wouldn't be able to recall every minute detail.”

Daniels and other Sarasota defense attorneys believe Fornal's background should be fair game in court, if prosecutors put him on the stand. His past escapades speak to his credibility, they say.

Another driver, whom Fornal stopped for speeding last July, performed near-perfect field sobriety tests. A video showed him displaying good balance and speaking in a clear voice with perfect diction. Despite that, Fornal arrested him on DUI charges. Fornal said in his report that the driver spoke with a “slurred, thick-tongued speech” and that he was swaying back and forth — the same language he used under oath Tuesday to describe Little.

<p><em>VENICE</em> - The Venice physician accused of DUI by ex-deputy Dominic Fornal was found not guilty by a six-person jury this afternoon.</p><p>“My client was vindicated today. We couldn't be happier, especially since there are about 100 cases or so left in the county from Mr. Fornal,” said defense attorney Brandon Daniels, after the three day trial.</p><p>The jury did not find the former deputy credible, Daniels said. He believes the acquittal sends a message. </p><p>“I hope the State Attorney's Office sees this as how he will be perceived as a witness. Credibility was the issue,” he said. “The jury saw through his inflammatory allegations.”</p><p>Tuesday's trial stemmed from a DUI arrest the former Sarasota County sheriff's deputy made in July, when he stopped Dr. Lew Little, a Venice physician, for speeding on State Road 776 south of Jacaranda Boulevard. Little, who claimed during the stop he had nothing to drink, refused to take a breath test.</p><p>EARLIER: Ex-deputy Dominic Fornal took the stand Tuesday as the state's main witness in one of the dozens of DUI cases left in limbo by his abrupt resignation last week amid an internal affairs probe into his behavior.</p><p>Fornal had been under investigation for an expletive-laden tirade that was captured on a state trooper's video recorder at an accident scene. Fornal referred to a man with post-traumatic stress disorder and attention deficit disorder who was a passenger in an accident as a “dumb f---ing retard,” adding, “I wish he would have got hit by a f---ing car on University. That would have been kinda funny.”</p><p>Tuesday's trial stemmed from a DUI arrest the former Sarasota County sheriff's deputy made in July, when he stopped Dr. Lew Little, a Venice physician, for speeding on State Road 776 south of Jacaranda Boulevard. Little, who claimed during the stop he had nothing to drink, refused to take a breath test.</p><p>County Judge Maryann Boehm set strict limits to the questions defense attorney Brandon Daniels could ask about Fornal's background. Her ruling came in response to a prosecutor's request to bar Daniels from raising Fornal's past stops or from introducing newspaper accounts of his activities. </p><p>The jury, comprising three men and four women, never learned that at the accident scene last November which ultimately cost him his job, Fornal allegedly poured a bottle of liquor into a woman's purse and then dumped the remainder of the bottle onto the floorboards of her van, and described another deputy as a “dumbass” to a state trooper. Fornal chose to resign rather than answer the allegations. </p><p>Fornal had been previously scrutinized for stopping a car in May after saying he could smell raw marijuana coming from the vehicle while following it at 35 mph with his windows rolled up. No raw marijuana was ever found.</p><p>Fornal told the jury he resigned from the sheriff's office for “personal reasons.”</p><p>Under cross examination, Daniels asked the former deputy to expand a bit on his answer.</p><p>“What were those personal reasons?” Daniels asked.</p><p>“Reasons that were personal,” Fornal said. </p><p>“Please elaborate,” Daniels said.</p><p>“Plenty of personal reasons,” Fornal replies. “I'm in school full time.”</p><p>“Any other personal reasons?” Daniels asked, which prompted an objection by Assistant State Attorney Melissa Gould, a sidebar with Judge Boehm, and the line of questioning stopped. </p><p>Fornal was with his union representative when he tendered his resignation last week.</p><p>In court Tuesday, Daniels tried to ask the former deputy to elaborate on that scene. This too was not allowed.</p><p>Daniels tried asking Fornal who had received his resignation letter.</p><p>“Through the chain of command, to Sheriff Knight,” Fornal said.</p><p>“No. Who did you hand it to?” Daniels asked.</p><p>“To Lt. Mercurio,” Fornal said.</p><p>“What department is he in?” Daniels asked.</p><p>“Internal Affairs,” Fornal said. </p><p>Fornal, who was wearing a white shirt, green tie and black pants, was somewhat argumentative with the defense attorney while on the stand. He blinked and cleared his throat frequently when under cross examination, and grinned widely at the jurors. </p><p>“I have an extensive amount of training in DUI enforcement,” Fornal told the jurors. “I would not have arrested him if he had not been impaired.” </p><p>Fornal said Little had “bloodshot watery eyes,” and that his speech was “slurred and thick-tongued.” </p><p>“I did notice an odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath,” Fornal said. “His fly was open. He had difficulty following instructions. He didn't appear to be sober.” </p><p>Later, when unable to recall a specific detail of the arrest, Fornal said, “I have arrested over 400 impaired drivers to date. I wouldn't be able to recall every minute detail.” </p><p>Daniels and other Sarasota defense attorneys believe Fornal's background should be fair game in court, if prosecutors put him on the stand. His past escapades speak to his credibility, they say.</p><p>Another driver, whom Fornal stopped for speeding last July, performed near-perfect field sobriety tests. A video showed him displaying good balance and speaking in a clear voice with perfect diction. Despite that, Fornal arrested him on DUI charges. Fornal said in his report that the driver spoke with a “slurred, thick-tongued speech” and that he was swaying back and forth — the same language he used under oath Tuesday to describe Little. </p><p>The trial is expected to conclude today.</p>